Have your say on plans to 'intensify' the suburbs08/09/2018 20:47:00......Posted by Gareth Streeter

Many residents are as concerned as we are about the Labour Council’s plan to ‘intensify the suburbs’ – code for filling areas like Shirley with inappropriate housing and flats.

The Council has now launched a formal consultation on the plan and it’s really important that residents make their views heard. To help facilitate this, a number of road shows have been announced. The 9th October event in Shirley Community Centre is likely to be the most convenient for Shirley residents, but you are welcome to attend any of these events if that date doesn’t suit.

As well as being a good chance to catch up with everyone, there was some very useful information from Trading Standards about the latest scams we must be mindful of. Also an interesting update from the Fire Brigade about the importance of testing our fire alarms.

We also had some interesting conversations about potentially extending the Shirley cold calling zone. We will keep residents updated as these conversations progress.

The future of Addiscombe Boys and Girls Club19/10/2018 10:27:00.......Posted by Gareth Streeter

Many residents are concerned about the future of the Addiscombe Boys and Girls club building on Stroud Green Way.

We have met with the trustees and will soon be meeting with council officers to obtain clarity on the situation.

Residents fed back many concerns to the council and contractors working on the site. While there is still much work to be down, it seems like communication from contractors is getting much better - and this is certainly good news.

Residents with specific issues should continue to contact us and we will do everything we can to help!

The consultation for the plans to construct new artificial football pitches on the Woodmere Avenue end of Ashburton Playing Fields has now ended.

The pre-application was presented to planning committee on Thursday 11th October and Shirley North councillors relayed the considerable concerns of local residents.

We have been informed by officers that they will be responding to comments made during the conversation. We will help publicise these when they are available.

Concerns continue around Ashburton Playing Fields04/10/2018 21:06:00.......Posted by Gareth Streeter

Tonight I attended a public consultation on plans to install two artificial football pitches, flood-lighting and changing rooms on to the Woodmere Avenue end of Ashburton Playing Fields.

Officers were very helpful in answering people’s questions, but there was understandably a great deal of concern from local residents.

I remain deeply worried about the disruption this scheme will cause to the nearby roads. Sports facilities are of course very important, but it seems inappropriate to situate them so near a community which will make little use of them.

Next Thursday – 11th October at 6.30pm – there will be a presentation to the planning committee about the scheme. Although residents won’t be able to ask any questions, they will be able to observe from the public gallery.

Good news! The hard-working ASPRA team are organising another ‘Addiscombe Village Jumble Trail’ for Sunday 30th September from 11am-3pm. Here are the details:

Follow the trail for some fantastic gifts and bargains

Residents in Addiscombe Village will be setting up stalls in their front gardens selling food, yummy homemade cakes, jewellery, original paintings and drawings, handmade cards, crafts, plants, bric-a-brac, pre-loved clothes, toys, books and so much more!

TO BOOK A STALL (it’s only £5) or for more information:

contact addiscombe.jumbletrail@gmail.com or

call 020 865 6366/020 8406 1342/07803 876008

Booking form can be downloaded from www.aspra.org.uk or picked up from Café Adagio or Addiscombe Security Centre in Lower Addiscombe Road

Cream team to support Shirley Neighbourhood Care28/07/2018 17:26:00.......Posted by Gareth Streeter

Had a great time at the Shirley Neighbourhood Care cream tea hosted by Shirley Methodist Church. As well as listening to the fantastic local men’s choir ‘The Singers’ it was a chance to raise money and awareness for their important work.

Shirley Neighbourhood Care Scheme (SNC) is a registered charity founded in the 1970s by the Churches Together in Shirley in Croydon. Shirley has a greater percentage of people aged over 85 than the rest of Croydon and we provide services to help our older residents live independently for as long as possible.

As local councillors we attended a meeting with residents at Longheath Gardens community centre last night.

There was a strong feeling that communication between the different parties involved in the development work needed to be stronger. We will put pressure on the Council to help coordinate better communication.

There were also a number of issues that residents raised. We have scheduled an extra surgery for this Saturday – 10AM – at the Community Centre. Please come along if there’s anything you want to raise with us.

Please do contact us with any issues or concerns you may have. We answer all our constituents' correspondence and value your comments. If you want your concern addressed by your local team, please follow the link above.